Know Your Baseball Idioms: 'Southpaw,' 'can of corn,' and other phrases from the diamond

[Diamond_Dog]

https://shorturl.at/rQl7L

These were easy.

Who’s got some other baseball idioms to share?
How about,

Table Setter
Inside out swing
Bug on a rug
Seeing Eye Single
Sno Cone

Anyone got any more? 🙂

[Deuxcents]

1. I played softball for my company's team many years ago and we had a coach that always said can of corn

We mocked him repeatedly because we had no idea what or why he kept yelling that at us! To this day, I still don’t know what it means but have never forgotten can of corn

[Diamond_Dog]

2. "Can of corn" is in the article at the link

It’s a weird one, to be sure

[Wounded Bear]

3. I know most of those...

Table setter refers to second level players whose job it is to get on base ahead of the heavy hitters. Usually the 7-8-9 guys in the lineup

Inside out swing is when the batter pulls his elbows in close to his body and hits the ball to the opposite field.

Seeing eye single refers to a ground ball that just sneaks between two infielders, so what might be an easy out at first becomes a single.

Sno cone is when a fielder catches a fly ball in the very tip of his glove where the ball is easily visible instead of deeper in the pocket.

No idea about bug on a rug.

[Diamond_Dog]

5. Bug on a rug ... aka worm burner...

A batted ball that just rolls with a lot of speed on the ground … no air or no bounce.

I think you got everything else …. I wonder though if table setters are the first guys in the lineup who get on base ahead of the cleanup batter?

[Wounded Bear]

7. Yeah, usually the leadoff guy is someone with a higher on base percentage...

either someone who gets a lot of hits and/or who walks a lot.

[rampartd]

28. the guys you expect to get on base and maybe steal are the 1 and 2 batters

7-8-9 are more likely averaging below the mendoza line and need gps to find second base. . you hope, but it is less likely they will "set the table"

[usonian]

4. high hard one. (oops)

Nehi fast ball.

[Diamond_Dog]

6. Lol!

[lastlib]

11. Oh, dear God, I hope he doesn't hit that!!

That stuff's GREAT on vanilla ice cream!!

In my circles, Peach Nehi on vanilla is like GOLD!

[usonian]

25. I don't know if that's a glass or plastic bottle.

Anyway, that's what I "see" on a radio broadcast. Nehi fast ball, that is. Not the other one.

[House of Roberts]

8. Submariner popped into my head.

I didn't see that one in the article.

[Diamond_Dog]

10. That's a good one.

A pitcher who throws sidearm/underhand.

[brush]

9. "Phenom" is one. "Up for a cup of coffee" is aotherl "Warning track power"

"Five tool player"...not too many of those.

[Diamond_Dog]

12. Those are all good ones!

[brush]

17. Thanks, DD. Another one is "tools of ignorance." Might be too obscure.

Last edited Fri Aug 8, 2025, 09:55 PM - Edit history (1)

[MichMan]

21. Posted right in the link

[ProfessorGAC]

40. 5 Tool Was The First One I Thought Of!

[brush]

43. Those are the rarest players. A few have been added to the list lately.

Jr. Griffey, Trout, Ohtani, Pujols, Judge (maybe, fielding questionable?). IMO the most additions since the '50-60s era when several Black players came into the majors follwing Jackie Robinson's integration of the leagues.

Mays, Arron, Clemente, Robinson, maybe add Cepeda and McCovey, the same question as Judge?

Any others, PG?

[ProfessorGAC]

44. Cepeda & McCovey Were Slow

So, maybe 4 tools. Orlando Cepeda got thrown out at first from left field.
A bullet right at Billy Williams. Cepeda was typically slow out of the box, and ran like he was tied to a car.
I know this because we were there. We went to Wrigley to see Cubs/Giants because my dad wanted me to see Willie Mays. I was probably 8 or 9, so '65 or '66.
Clemente, definitely. He was my dad's favorite non-Cub. Saw him a few times at Wrigley.
Hank only won a couple gold gloves, so not sure he would be 5 tool either. But, over 3k hits & 755 HR while never hitting over 47 in a season is astounding. And, quite the gentleman given the horrible treatment he endured.

[brush]

45. Hank Aaron was 'steady eddie' re: his consistent HR totals every year...

always high 30s to that 47 year.

I forgot Mike Schmitt. Maybe? Also Stan Musial.

I noticed you didn't mention any of the steroid tainted players either.

[ProfessorGAC]

46. And, i Won't!

Because we can never know what tools were chemically enhanced & whether the longevity was augmented.
Musial is a good one. I do, however, have a bias against left fielders, knowing that teams hid their weakest arms in left.
I never know if a LF has a great arm, or a great arm for a left fielder. It's one of my knocks on Bonds, even before the 'roads. I feel like great defensive players play right or center.

[rsdsharp]

13. One of Casey Stengel's favorites was "butcher boy"

which meant for the batter to chop down on the ball to hit a high hopper, so he could use his speed to beat out an infield hit.

He used to yell this at a young Mickey Mantle who had no idea what he was talking about.

[Diamond_Dog]

14. Well, that's a new one for me!

[rsdsharp]

15. Mickey, too!

It’s especially confusing because a butcher boy was someone who would pass through passenger cars on trains, selling snacks, newspapers, etc.

[Devilsun]

16. I believe "can of corn" was one of Bob Prince's lines he was the Pirates announcer in the 60s & 70s.

[Diamond_Dog]

36. Yes, and he also would use "bug on the rug."

[lapucelle]

18. Little League home run

[boonecreek]

19. The Cubs longtime broadcaster Jack Brickhouse had one.

When a batter hit a line drive for a hit right past past an infielder his usual comment was
"well that one left him blinking like a mouse in a bran barrel."

[The Wizard]

20. Wall scraper

A home run that barely left the playing field.

[CanonRay]

22. Baltimore Chop

Hitting the ball downward directly on the Plate

[CanonRay]

23. Southpaw

Not sure where this comes from, but I am one

[ProfessorGAC]

41. It Actually Makes A Lot Of Sense

In the very early days of baseball, diamonds were set up with the pitcher throwing west so the afternoon sun wasn't in the hitters eyes.
If you face west, your left arm is to the south.
Hence, southpaw!

[CanonRay]

24. Bush League

Generally referring to minor leagues but also doing something unprofessional

[Diamond_Dog]

30. That one was in the article too

Glad it didn’t mean anything related to Dubya (he was part owner of the Texas Rangers)

[KitFox]

26. "Frank and Ernest Play Ball" is a fun children's book by Alexandra Day that is full of them. I

always read it to my class each spring. Some terms they learned while learning to manage a team.
frozen rope
can of corn
fly hawk
hot corner
smoke artist

By the way, in the first Frank and Ernest book they learn to run a diner and learn all that terminology. In Frank and Ernest “On the Road” they learn about semi truck driving.

[ultralite001]

27. How about

Chin music???

Dying quail???

Uncle Charlie???

[Diamond_Dog]

31. How could I forget "chin music"!

That was one of Mudcat Grant’s favorite sayings as a broadcaster for Indians games.

“Uncle Charlie” the old number two. (catchers sign). Meaning curveball. Fastball is the number one.

“Dying quail” a ball batted in the air that drops right in between the outfielders.

Re catchers’ signs. Are those obsolete now that they use the new communication system?

[ultralite001]

35. My dad was a catcher long ago...

For a Police Benevolence Association team long ago…

It was amazing how much info he could
give his pitchers w/ those finger signs…
Beyond the everyday middle finger salute…

Growing up w/ baseball made for good times… Thanks for the memories!!!

[Diamond_Dog]

38. You're welcome, ultralite001!

[Auggie]

29. To be "Wally Pipped"

Last edited Sat Aug 9, 2025, 10:51 AM - Edit history (1)

Wally Pipp played 1st base for the Yankees. On June 2, 1925, he requested to sit because of a headache. Lou Gehrig started in his place, thus beginning a streak of 2,130 consecutive games played at 1st.

Urban Dictionary: To be "Wally Pipped" is when someone in a role temporarily leaves their position and is replaced by a much better unknown person who then takes over the position.


From wikipededia:

According to the most popular version of the story, Pipp showed up at Yankee Stadium that day with a severe headache, and asked the team's trainer for two aspirin. Miller Huggins, the Yankees' manager, noticed this, and said "Wally, take the day off. We'll try that kid Gehrig at first today and get you back in there tomorrow." Gehrig played well and became the Yankees' new starting first baseman. This story first appeared in a 1939 New York World-Telegram on Gehrig's career, in which Pipp was interviewed. Pipp was later quoted to have said, "I took the two most expensive aspirin in history."

SNIP

By 1953, Pipp reported to The New York Times that he was taken out of the lineup due to being hit in the head by a pitch thrown by Charlie Caldwell during batting practice. However, while Pipp was hit in the head by a pitch from Caldwell and was hospitalized, this event occurred on July 2, a month after Pipp's benching.

The New York Sun reported the benching was due to Pipp's struggles against left-handed pitchers, as southpaw George Mogridge was the scheduled starting pitcher for the Senators on June 2.

Other sources suggest Yankee manager Miller Huggins may have actually benched Pipp and other veterans in order to "shake up" the slumping lineup. According to another story, supported by Gehrig's wife, Pipp was not at the game on June 2 because he was gambling on horse racing at a race track. His son Thomas denied this rumor, stating that his father never bet on horses.When interviewed by Sports Illustrated, Pipp's own children disagreed on the reason for their father's benching, believing it was either due to Pipp being beaned or struggling

Thomas believed Pipp told Huggins to play Gehrig in his place, as he knew Gehrig had a future with the Yankees, while he likely did not. According to a popular legend, Pipp asked to sit due to a headache. The story was confirmed by Thomas and by Bill Werber.[25]

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More recent idiom coined by Mike Krukow, San Francisco Giants announcer: "Magic Wandoo."

Magic Wandoo describes a ball in play that takes an unexpected or mysterious bounce, direction, spin, hop, rate of speed that leads to a hit, productive out, on-base appearance, etc., or, an amazing defensive effort.

Example:

Angel Pagan lead off the 1st with a double down the right field line and Buster Posey broke out the magic wandoo with a hard hit ball to the short stop Cliff Pennington. Hunter Pence came up and one upped Buster Posey with the magic wandoo when he literally threw the bat and hit a single up the middle that hit second base and bounced over second baseman Chris Owings‘ head. Seriously, would you expect anything else from Hunter Pence?

[Diamond_Dog]

32. Thank you Auggie, those were great! I've never heard of either one.

Last edited Sat Aug 9, 2025, 10:44 AM - Edit history (1)

[Auggie]

33. You are welcome ...

Nolan Jones may be Wally Pipped by C.J. Kayfus.

Great thread. Thanks for starting it.

[Diamond_Dog]

37. You are correct!

I’m really liking what I see from Kayfus so far.

[ultralite001]

34. 🤣🤣🤣

Most xlnt…

[Auggie]

39. "The String is Out"

Means a full count. Attributed to Indians' Jimmy Dudley, 1948 to 1968.

[Diamond_Dog]

47. Yep! You are correct.

[ProfessorGAC]

42. A Few Others

Duck Snort - a weakly hit pop fly that is too far for the infielders but too short for the outfielders. Often called a "blooper".
Aspirin Tablet - a fastball so quick that the ball looks like a pill going by. Goes back at least as far as Lefty Grove.
Yakker - Slow, broadly breaking curve ball.
There are others I thought of, but that's enough

[Diamond_Dog]

48. I have to admit I've never heard of any of those! Except for "blooper" or "bloop hit".

Sometimes even called a “dinker”.
The type of hit often seen when a team plays “small ball”.
Usually doesn’t get past the “hot corner”.